Why people recommend it
H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald is a critically acclaimed memoir that chronicles the author's harrowing journey through grief following the sudden death of her father, which she processes by training a notoriously aggressive goshawk. The deeply moving book received widespread praise across literary podcasts. Kathryn Schulz expressed immense admiration on The Book Review, describing it as a truly beautiful and unusual exploration of mourning. Pamela Paul and Vicky Constantine Croke also discussed the memoir on the same platform, highlighting its complete lack of cliché and noting the immense international acclaim it received in England, including prestigious honors like the Samuel Johnson Prize and the Costa Book Award. John Williams included it in his summer reading recommendations, while Parul Sehgal enthusiastically named it her personal favorite book of the year, frequently gifting copies to friends. In later episodes, Pamela Paul drew thematic parallels between Macdonald's work and other narratives centered on grief and the natural world, such as Patrik Svensson's writing, while Tina Jordan included it among the standout memoirs selected for lists of the best books of the twenty-first century. Across all these discussions, the book is celebrated for its exquisite poetic prose, emotional depth, and its brilliant fusion of nature writing with raw human vulnerability.
Who recommended it
- Pamela Paul Recommended
- Vicky Constantine Croke Recommended
- Greg Coles Discussed
- Kathryn Schulz Recommended
- Tina Jordan Discussed
- John Williams Recommended
Pamela Paul — 4 mentions
“And of course it reminded me as a reader and I think other readers have brought up this analogy of Helen Macdonald's book H Is for Hawk which is also about grieving for a father and an animal”
“Vicky Constantine croak will tell us about Helen McDonald's H is for Hawk a memoir which she reviews this week on our cover there's nothing clich in this book whatsoever”
“H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald”
“I think I did I think I I Priti for ages for Hawk if you know me you've probably gotten a copy of this book this year”
Vicky Constantine Croke — 2 mentions
“this book is um first of all it's a dream to read it's just it's beautifully written and it does something that a lot of books hope to do but don't quite accomplish and that is so Helen McDonald uh is a poet and an academic”
“eaches for Hawk um is just coming out here it's already come out in England but already it's garnering huge ug amount of claim it's won the Samuel Johnson prize it just won the Costa prize in the UK”
Greg Coles — 2 mentions
“well uh we should also note not quite uh brand new but staying on the list is our cover review from a few weeks back uh kind of a surprised bestseller here with hes for Hawk”
“Helen McDonald's H is for Hawk which has not been on the list since last May is back on the list at number 10 that made a lot of best of lists at the end of the year”
Kathryn Schulz — 1 mention
“what an enormous admirer I am of Helen McDonald's HS for Hawk a truly beautiful and unusual book about her grief over her father's death”
Tina Jordan — 1 mention
“we have several Memoirs also H is for Hawk H is for Hawk”
John Williams — 1 mention
“H is for Hawk Helen McDonald's m which was on the cover of the book review and has gotten a lot of really great attention”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“in recent years we have had Birds H is for Hawk the evolution of beauty”
“um at number four H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald is a memoir of her father's death and how she kind of coped with her grief uh through learning falconry”
“um Helen McDonald's Memoir of grief and falconry H is for Hawk is new on the list at number eight”